Monday, July 11, 2011

Bill Anderson-50 Years As An Opry Member

This Friday night, July 15, Bill Anderson will celebrate his 50th anniversary as an Opry member. The formal activities will take place on Saturday night as Bill will be on both Opry shows that evening and there are other events scheduled involving Bill and his fans.

Bill made his first appearance as an Opry member on July 15, 1961. He had been asked to join the Opry by Opry manager Ott Devine earlier that week. I know that I have repeated the story several times, but here is how Bill was quoted as remembering the events that led to his Opry membership:

"I think what probably led to me getting on the Opry was a show I did in Panama City, Florida, in late spring of '61. Opry manager Ott Devine was down in Panama City on a fishing trip and I was booked at the auditorium there as part of a package show. Ott came over to see the show. At the time, I had the record 'Po' Folks' out and it was getting pretty hot across the country. I did it on that show in Panama City and got about two or three encores--just really stopped the show with it. Ott came backstage and seemed quite impressed. I had been a guest on the Opry a few times--the first time when I had my first record for Decca in '58. 'That's What It's Like to be Lonesome'--but I hadn't really been on that much. Ott said when he got back to Nashville he was going to call me. So I was sitting home watching the All-Star baseball game on TV and about one o'clock in the afternoon my phone rang and I thought, 'Golly, I can't believe somebody is calling me and interrupting the ball game.' But it was Ott Devine and he said, 'How would you like to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry?' Needless to say, I forgot the ball game."

"I was totally in awe of the Opry. It was just so hard for me to believe that I was there with all those people I had listened to and idolized all down through the years. And it took me a long time to be comfortable. Because, if anything, I was a super fan. It was very, very hard for me to relax. And not just with the stars, but with the outstanding sidemen and musicians. It was very difficult for me to go up to them and ask them to play with me on the Opry. That was the days before I had a band. To me, the Grand Ole Opry has always been the pinnacle. I mean, it's like a kid growing up who wants to be a baseball player--in my era he wanted to play in Yankee Stadium, because that was the tops. Or if a guy wanted to be in the movies, he wanted to be in Hollywood. And for somebody who wanted to be in country music, the pinnacle, the top, the ultimate was the Grand Ole Opry. And even though its role has changed somewhat in the modern concept of country music, to me it's still the pinnacle."

The All-Star game took place on Tuesday July 11, 1961 and he signed his contract to become an Opry member on July 12, which is why sometimes that date is given as his Opry anniversary date.

Many consider Bill one of the greatest all-around talents in the history of country music. He has had 37 Top-Ten singles on the Billboard chart and he has earned more than 50 BMI songwriter awards. He has a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia. He 1st recorded "City Lights" in 1957 and Ray Price made it a #1 hit the following year. He then was signed by Decca records, and his recording and songwriting career were well under way. Not only is he a great songwriter and performer, but he has discovered new talent, notably Connie Smith, he has written books, hosted several television game shows, has hosted several radio programs and was a host for "Backstage at the Opry'. He also was the duet partner for Jan Howard and Mary Lou Turner and in its prime, his Po Folks Band was considered one of the best around. In 2001, he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and he is also a member of the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Even today, at the age of 73, he is one of the best songwriters around and his songs are recorded by many of the top stars in country music today.

In honor of Bill Anderson's 50th anniversary as an Opry member, here is the line up from the show on Saturday July 15, 1961, the night that Bill Anderson officially was introduced as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.

8 comments:

Congratulations to Ol' Whisper. He's been a true Opry loyalist all the way. But there is something odd here, which is that--I think--he once said that Billy Grammer inducted him. I wonder if he meant that Grammer hosted his first appearance, since Billy wasn't on the program that night. I also think it's interesting to see who is NOT there--Mr. Acuff, Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Marty Robbins, Faron Young, Ferlin Husky ... so many greats.

By the way, I've always thought one of Anderson's best stories is about Ferlin's impression of him. He said it bothered him and one day Ferlin asked if it bothered him. Bill said yes. Ferlin said, first, if you didn't have something special, there would be no way to imitate you and, second, if I didn't like you, I wouldn't give you the publicity!

In Bill Anderson's autobiography, "Whisperin' Bill", here is what he wrote, picking up the story after the phone call from Ott Devine, asking him to become an Opry member:

"They made me the sixty-first member of the Opry onstage at the historic old Ryman a couple of Saturday nights later. There was no elaborate ceremony, no coronation of sorts, just a simple introduction by host Billy Grammer and a million butterflies in the pit of my stomach. I wore my shiny purple western suit with the gold boots. I sang 'Po'Folks' and the audience called me back for an encore. I don't think I've ever experienced a bigger thrill. Unless it was the night in July 1986, when I celebrated my twenty-fifth anniversary as a member of the Opry cast."

The only thing missing in Bill's book is that, outside of mentioning the July 1986 date, and the All-Star game, he makes no mention of any dates.

Now, I wasn't at the Opry in July 1961, or even listening to the show, but I will say that the line up I have came from a very reliable source and was even marked as Bill Anderson's Opry induction. So, I am not sure of the confusion. I would have to look up the rest of the Opry line ups in July 1961, to see if I can figure out what date Billy Grammer hosted and had Bill as his guest.

The other thing that came into my head, is that considering Billy Grammer is still alive, how many of the other artists who have celebrated their 50th anniversary as an Opry member, have had the Opry member who handled their induction still alive? It would be interesting to find out.

I know that Billy is retired now and made his last Opry appearance a couple of years ago when he celebrated his 50th year as an Opry member, but I think it would be neat if somehow they could get Billy to come up and be on the Opry on Saturday night with Bill. That would be a magical moment.

Interestingly, he refers to "a couple of Saturday nights later," so I wonder if he mixed it up himself and was on a segment that Billy Grammer hosted the next week. But what a great question you raise about the member being alive 50 years after the induction! It occurs to me that Ray Price was a member then and might well have inducted someone who has been there for 50 years?

When I went back in my files and looked, I do not have a line up from the following Saturday night, which would have been July 22. That would leave July 29, so I am going to work on that one. It maybe that Billy did introduce him the first time he appeared as an actual Opry member, but I don't know on this one.

Of course, we know that the Opry is famous for keeping pretty poor records. For years, they have had numerous artist's induction dates wrong, including Connie Smith, Reba McEntire and even, Bill Anderson. They had previously listed his date as July 12th!! Of course, they have actually changed the year of inductin for George Hamilton IV and George Jones.

I understand why they list the original induction dates, but they should include information about how they left and came back. That said, I also remember reading that when Jim Denny became manager in 1947, he discovered that they never even copyrighted the NAME Grand Ole Opry. So it's been that kind of place, and it's one reason to love it!

It was nice in the article over the weekend that it was mentioned that Jean Shepard is the longest continuous Opry member currently in the cast. She deserves the recognition. I remember before Charlie Louvin died, that in interviews, Jean always made sure to mention that Charlie had been at the Opry longer than anyone else.

Jean is always careful about her Opry history. I think she has mentioned that Jimmy C. Newman is next on the list. Stonewall Jackson would come next, but he was one of those in the "purge" of 1964, though he came right back and made the appearances.

Bill mentioned again on Saturday night that Billy Grammer introduced him on the night that he became an Opry member, but I just cannot find that anywhere. Still looking. It was also nice that Alison Krauss joined Bill Saturday night at the Opry.

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About Me

I am a nationally recognized independent historian of the Grand Ole Opry. In addition to being the publisher and writer of Fayfare's Opry Blog, I have also researched Opry information for numerous authors and interested Opry fans. A resident of Canton, Ohio, I have attended hundreds of Grand Ole Opry shows since my first visit to Nashville in 1973. I can be contacted via email at bfay54@gmail.com